Is original Dallas arch villainess Katherine Wentworth dead? That’s what we were told in the latest episode (season 2 episode 9- ‘Ewings Unite!’) of Dallas 2.0. As Bobby, John Ross (JR III) and Christopher are looking through some papers of Barnes Global (supposedly the company that was either Wentworth Industries or Wentworth tool and die-or both) Bobby (tells a historical inaccuracy) by saying to the two that Barnes Global was started by Cliff’s mother, Rebecca. No it wasn’t. Wentworth Industries and Wentworth Tool & Die were started by Rebecca’s late husband, Herbert Wentworth, but Cliff sold the interest he had in the company. The third company, which it could be said Rebecca, didn’t form but bought, Barnes-Wentworth oil-Katherine and Pam wouldn’t have had a share in and we are told in episode 9 that all three (Katherine, Pam and Cliff) were given a third each of Barnes Global.
Anyway, he then goes on to drop the bombshell, very casually-considering this is the woman who broke up his marriage, stalked him and shot him, before showing up at his critically ill wife’s bedside, that “Katherine’s dead”.
Err what? When, why and how also spring to mind! Is this a red herring to throw the viewers off some kind of trail that is being laid? I was hopeful but have been told that Cynthia Cidre (Dallas 2.0’s Executive Producer) said at the recent Dallas Paleyfest event in Los Angeles that there are no plans for Katherine Wentworth to appear this season and actress Morgan Brittany, who played Katherine from 1982-1985 and again in 1987 seems as surprised as everyone else that Katherine has died (see http://www.dallasdivasderby.com for her actual comments) making the character’s death being false increasingly doubtful.
This seems to be yet another head scratching move from the producers on the new show. Katherine Wentworth has still got plenty of ‘juice’ and potential left as a character, plus she’s one of the ones most missed by fans (along with the others such as Donna, Pam, Jenna etc etc expect them all to turn up dead soon too).
I can only hope that this is some kind of ploy by the production team of Dallas 2.0 and they haven’t completely lost the plot (though to me it feels increasingly like they have each week.) and that Katherine will resurface at some point, maybe next season, along with the real Rebecca Sutter and Jamie Ewing-Barnes-all of whom also died off screen. If it is true that the character’s dead, I just can’t understand what the point is and why one of the most popular Dallas characters of all time would be killed off in such an unceremonious and unspectacular fashion. The last few years of the original Dallas weren’t that great, I think a lot of people would admit to that, but at its height it was amazing. Whereas the first few years of the new Dallas have been good, in places, but average most of the time so where does it go from here?